With the side quest completed, I ascended back to the upper city and went to the holy temple.

As I did so, I noticed things I didn’t before. I passed a noble's garden decorated with several statue-like figures. Behind high walls, I saw them, people on leashes, their hair a uniform white, serving their masters.

"Magnificent, aren't they?" A noblewoman said. "This batch has lasted nearly a year.”

“They are indeed, the white hair, the luminescent skin... Must be worth every coin.” Another replied.

"My Isabel," she gestured to a young woman whose skin had a faint crystalline sheen. “"was quite common before. But look at her now! The secret is regular exposure. Not too much light at once. "

I blocked out the words and moved along, unable to bear their conversations anymore.

I was back in front of the holy temple. Looking at it from here, up close, it was an impressive sight. The building dominated the skyline with its white marble spires reaching toward the heavens. Sunlight struck the polished stone and scattered in all directions, creating a corona effect that made the temple appear to glow from within

The walls were adorned with massive stained-glass windows, each showing an image of a different knight. They depicted twelve knights in total, their images towering three stories high.

Each knight was captured in a moment of power, one wreathed in holy flames that seemed to dance in the sunlight, another commanding wave of crystalline ice. I saw one with winds swirling around her blade, and another with the very earth rising to answer his call.

At the center of this pantheon sat what I assumed to be their leader, perched upon a throne that appeared to be carved from a single massive crystal. Unlike the others, this knight was depicted in repose, yet somehow seemed more threatening than all the rest. The way the light struck the window made their armor seem to shift and move, as if at any moment they might step down from their throne.

Above the entrance, carved in letters of gold, was an ancient script that I didn’t quite understand. Perhaps greek or something more exotic.

As I prepared to enter the temple, however, that dreaded warning sign popped up again.

Warning! You party is severely undersized for this raid Recommended level: ??? Recommended Party: 12 Current Party: 1 System Assessment: Suicide Mission

I froze mid-step. Wait what! I was expecting this to be a casual visit to the temple to learn more about the history of this world, not a raid boss to be tackled when I barely had any combat experience. What kind of temple needed to be approached with a full combat party?

Looking around with newfound wariness, I noticed details I'd overlooked before. What I'd taken for simple decorative engravings along the walls now looked more like battle scars. The massive doors, while beautiful, were reinforced with strips of metal that seemed more suited to a fortress than a place of worship. Even the steps leading up to the entrance were worn down in patterns that suggested regular defensive formations rather than peaceful gatherings.

I caught movement in my peripheral vision, priests in their white robes watching me from behind pillars. They whispered to each other behind raised hands, their eyes never leaving me.

My instincts told me that I definitely should not enter the temple. Perhaps it was my paranoia but all the signs added up to one clear message: I was a low-level player stumbling into late-game content. This would not end well.

I took a step backward, then another. What now then?

I felt a deliberate bump behind me.

“The night exists.” A voice muttered to me, low and soft, barely audible. But just those three words made my heart skip. Finally, a hint towards my goals.

I started to turn, but the voice quickly added. “Don't look back. Wait ten seconds then follow me.”

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The footsteps behind me moved left, each one deliberately placed. One, two, three... I counted the seconds, my heart hammering against my ribs. At ten, I turned, catching sight of a hooded figure already halfway down the street.

I followed, maintaining a careful distance. Close enough to keep them in sight, far enough not to draw attention. We descended back into the lower city, an all too familiar trek to me now. I had made this journey before, but this time, with the excitement of the night motivating me, the journey was a lot more pleasant.

The hooded figure led me deeper into a maze of deserted alleyways where even the beggars didn't venture. The sounds of the city grew distant, replaced by our echoing footsteps and the occasional scurrying of rats. The walls pressed in closer here, the buildings leaning toward each other, constricting the path ahead.

Every gaming instinct I had screamed 'ambush location,' and I wondered if I made the right choice, but we'd passed the point of no return.

Finally, we reached a dead end, walls on three sides, decorated with peeling posters and faded graffiti. The hooded figure stopped.

"Master Doran spoke of you." The voice was clearer now. "Welcome, warrior of darkness."

“Doran?”

"The blacksmith." He clarified. " He has keen eyes, that one. Said a stranger walked into his forge bearing a blade of darkness itself." His head tilted. "A stranger that asked questions about things best left unspoken."

That old man. I knew there was something fishy about him. His willingness to handle an illegal weapon yet evasiveness in answering questions.

"Walking these streets with such a flashy weapon. You’re new to our city, I reckon."

I nodded. “Just arrived.”

"Fresh from the Undercity, then.” He leaned against the wall, relaxed despite our suspicious surroundings. “Though the desert crossing must have been harsh, it always is. Most of us just barely made it. Few of us dare to return."

"Huh?" I blinked, thrown by the sudden shift in conversation. "The Undercity? Who are you?" The questions tumbled out, each one carrying more confusion than the last.

" You’re not from the Undercity?" He straightened up; surprise evident in their posture. "Impossible. All dark affinities start in the Undercity." There was genuine puzzlement in their voice now, as if I'd disrupted some fundamental assumption.

I shook my head, struggling to find words that wouldn't make me sound completely lost. "Who are you?" I repeated, putting more force behind the question this time.

"Ah yes, where are my manners." He reached up to adjust their hood, though his face remained hidden in shadow. "This must all seem very strange to you." There was a pause, weighted with significance. "We are -."

The hooded figure's words died mid-sentence. The temperature seemed to drop, and shadows that had been perfectly normal moments ago began to move wrong. They stretched, twisted, flowed like liquid darkness.

"Watching you..."

The voice wasn't loud, but it filled the alley completely, as if the walls themselves were speaking.

I turned around trying to locate the source but to no avail.

“Knight of the Night.” The voice twisted through the air. "You've seen it, haven't you? The light's true face."

“A system to oppress the masses, enriching the few while devouring the masses.” The voice grew closer, almost tangible, before a shadow detached itself from the walls, condensing into a figure. He was dressed in black and fluttered from shadow to shadow. He wore a creepy smile on his face and a crescent scythe in his hand.

“Greetings chosen…” The smiling man stopped abruptly mid-sentence. He stared at me with confusion on his face. The corners of his lips turned downwards, transforming his smile into a frown.

“Hmmmm” He cocked his head to the side before gripping his chin in deep thought. He then proceeded to tap his forehead before looking to the sky as though pondering some great mystery. Tap, tap- he drummed his fingers against his forehead, lost in thought. And then, without warning, that unsettling smile returned to his face. There was a silver flash.

I held up my iron sword in response, but it was too slow. The clash lasted less than a heartbeat before my sword shattered into a thousand pieces. In that split second, I saw my reflection in the falling shards. Defenseless.

Pain exploded across my body as a series of slashes tore through me, each one more brutal than the last. I was thrown back and crashed into the wall behind. Blood sprayed out in elegant patterns, like some twisted artist's masterpiece.

The next few moments were hazy.

"Strange..." The smiling man's voice drifted down from somewhere above me. "You bear all of his authority but none of his strength..."

He stared at me as though expecting a reply. But do you really expect a grievously injured person to respond to puzzling questions?

“You’re weak. Still way too weak.” The man stood over me, his eyes filled with disappointment.

Critical Status: Severe Hemorrhaging HP: 12/135 Status Effect: Fatal Bleeding - HP drains 1 per second Time until death: 00:00:12

I was slowly bleeding out. My vision was blurry and I could only see shapes.

“It’s too early for you to be here. You’ll never beat the Sky Knight like this.”

His cryptic words made no sense to me. Sky Knight? The question formed but never reached my lips.

“Go back to the Undercity, get stronger before raiding the upper city again”

HP: 3/135 System shutdown imminent

My world turned black. The last thing I saw was the twinkling shards of my broken sword. My last thought before I passed out was bitter with frustration:

“I just bought that sword you asshole”